A DAY after Dani Ravena exploded on social media as she responded to ‘nepo baby’ accusations from her bashers, her family made sure to let her know they got her back.
Dani’s big brother Kiefer Ravena joined her mother-slash-team manager Mozzy Ravena from the sides as they watched the Akari Chargers score yet another come-from-behind victory, this time over reigning two-time PVL Reinforced Conference champions Petro Gazz Angels in a five set thriller.
The younger Ravena showed up for her family with 10 excellent digs in the victory, a victory that looked bleak early on as they fell into a two-set hole early.
Despite the outburst, Dani was in good spirits after the victory, even joking that her brother might have been bearing bad luck in the game.
“Nu’ng nanonood si Manong (Kiefer), nu’ng mga first sets na natatalo kami, medyo malapit ko na siyang paalisin kasi parang medyo malas,” she said.
“But, siguro, yung again, I think ‘yung pinaka-motivation ko is naniniwala sakin yung mga important na tao, which are again, my coaches, my teammates, my family. From that pa lang, I think I have enough motivation na to push myself despite all the criticism.”
It is what it is
Being born into a family of star athletes – from her dad Bong and older brothers in Kiefer and Thirdy – has its perks. But it certainly has its downsides as Dani can already attest to now.
No matter what she does, her surname would always stand out. The people online who’ve had it for her brothers for the longest time have now found another ‘Ravena’ to pick on, and honestly, she’s already gotten used to it by now.
She knows that people are gonna talk anyway, and the only thing that she can do now is focus on the things that she can control – her career, and how she carries herself on and off the court.
“I think I’ve grown into understanding that it will never go away. I just have to live with it. [I have to] exceed expectations and just really reach my full potential on and off the court,” she said.
“The criticism kasi, it will always come my way so I don’t really mind it, as long as I can help the team in any way, basta mapasalita or masigaw ako, or I’m vocal inside the court, I’ll help them,” she added.
“I’ll just continue to do it as much as possible, and sana mag-continue lang yung pag-improve ko not only as a team, but also a player.”
Focusing on what matters
While some people already had a judgement on Ravena’s selection, especially with her mother’s position on the squad, the 24-year-old knows that she’s here because she worked for it.
For now, the only thing that matters for Ravena is making sure that she earns that spot every single day in practice and in games.
“I’m done proving myself to anybody else. I just want to make sure na I am worth it dito sa team kasi nakikita ko na I have talented coaches, talented teammates. No matter what other people will say, ang paniniwalaan ko is ‘yung coaches and teammates ko,” she said.
“I’ll never take this opportunity for granted so, sorry for being emotional. I guess it’s just something that I really had to let out.”
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